The invention relates to a frame assembled from a plurality of parts for a vehicle sliding sunroof or slide-and-tilt sunroof.
In a known frame (DE 40 14 487 C1) of this type the drive cables are displaceably carried in exposed guide tubes outside a plastic injection molded front member. A motor mounting plate is integrally molded on to the front member and extends forwards in the direction of travel as a projection of the front member. In another known frame for a vehicle sliding sunroof (DE 197 46 545 A1), although the drive cables are no longer carried in guide tubes outside the plastic injection molded front member, they are carried inside the front member, partly in slots open at the top and partly in adjoining tubes.
The object of the invention is to provide a frame of such a type, which can be inexpensively manufactured and assembled from few parts.
According to the present invention, there is provided a frame, assembled from a plurality of parts, for a vehicle sliding sunroof or slide and tilt sunroof, for guiding and mounting a moveable cover assigned to a corresponding roof opening, the frame having a plastic injection molded front member and two side members, arranged parallel to one another and having guide rails for the cover, which side members can be fixed to the front member by way of corner areas molded on to the front member, wherein drive cables for the movement of the cover are provided, which are drive connected to a drive device arranged on the front member by way of a motor mounting plate, and which are displaceably guided on the front member, the corner areas and the side members in a compressive rigid manner; wherein cable channels for the drive cables, open at the bottom, are molded into the front member on both sides of a molded recess for accommodating the motor mounting plate, manufactured as a separate plastic injection molded part, it being possible to close off the said channels by means of cover elements, which are likewise formed as plastic injection molded parts and can be fixed in position to the front member.
In addition to other advantages, manufacturing the motor mounting plate separately as an injection molded plastic part of relatively small dimensions also permits a standardised design for frames of differing types and/or dimensions, whilst adhering to tight dimensional tolerances. Different frames only need a likewise standardised recess in order to accommodate the standard motor mounting plate. Molding in the open cable channels facilitates insertion of the drive cables into the front member and makes it possible to dispense with guide tubes that have to be additionally manufactured and fitted. Like all elements of the front member, the cover elements for the cable channels are also plastic injection molded parts that are inexpensive to manufacture. After fitting to the front member by their inner surfaces, they form bearing and guide surfaces for the drive cables inserted into the cable channels.
Feed-through passages may be provided in the motor mounting plate, into which the two drive cables can be inserted during assembly. Since the feed-though passages tightly enclose the drive cables with displacement travel, no special measures designed to ensure engagement need to be taken at the point of engagement of the drive cables with the drive pinion of the motor, such as the conventional attachment of a spring plate with its associated noise problems.
The feed-through passages in the motor mounting plate are here preferably such that they have their narrowest cross-section at the point of working engagement between the drive cables and the drive pinion. The transitional chamfers or roundings also serve to suppress the generation of noise in drive displacements of the drive cables.
These measures are advantageous in obtaining a precise alignment of the feed-though passages in the motor mounting plate with the adjoining cable channels in the front member of the frame.
The motor-mounting plate and the front member may be equipped with catch elements for prelocating during assembly of the frame and the motor.
The use of a motor mounting plate manufactured separately from the front member permits the advantageous use of plastics with different characteristics for these parts.
After positioning and prelocating of the motor mounting plate on the front member, final assembly of these parts can be suitably undertaken when fitting the motor by bolting the motor to the front member with the motor mounting plate interposed between them.
The cover elements can be fixed to the front member of the frame by a combination of clip elements and screwed connections. This opens up the advantageous possibility, when assembling the frame, of first clipping the cover elements to the front member, before undertaking the screwed connections producing a fixed connection. For this purpose, screws inserted through openings in the cover elements may be screwed directly into the plastic of the front member and/or into threaded bushings injection molded into the front member.
Joining the frame side members to the front member in locations precisely positioned in relation to one another, and fixing these parts of the frame to one another is suitably achieved by the measures, without the need for stamping of the side members for this purpose. For example, the frame side members are laid on the corner areas of the front member from above, positioning being aided by the engagement of positioning projections molded on to the front member with corresponding positioning apertures made in the side members, and are fixed to one another by fasteners. The fasteners are screws introduced through holes in the side members and screwed into the front member and/or hot rivet projections formed on to the front member and led through holes in the side members.
Since, as is usual in frames of this type, the front member and the side members are provided with water channels, via which any water getting into the sliding sunroof construction is drained off, these frame members must be sealed off from one another. This is advantageously achieved by means of the sealing channels, which are molded into the front member and can be filled with a sealant, the sealant being suitably delivered through the holes in the side members.